


chasing the sun

by silversparrow



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Fluff, M/M, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-27
Updated: 2012-12-27
Packaged: 2017-11-22 14:34:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,072
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/610879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/silversparrow/pseuds/silversparrow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The evolution of Niall and Harry's relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	chasing the sun

**Author's Note:**

> My fill for the _gamma set_ at [1sentence](http://1sentence.livejournal.com). This is probably the most out of order piece of fiction I have ever written but it was a really nice exercise to get me out of my slump.

.001 ♚ _r i n g_

There was a flurry of emotions gripping Niall’s chest as he watched them take their vows, but ringing above all the others was sorrow, bright red and pulsing deep in the small crevices of his heart, and it ripped him apart piece by piece when Harry slid the ring around Caroline’s finger.

 

.002 ♚ _h e r o_

When Niall was younger, he had given up hope that heroes still existed, until Harry came up to the boys with a bat of his own and told them he’d break their faces in half if they came anywhere near Niall again.

 

.003 ♚ _m e m o r y_

“Do you remember that time we went camping?” Harry once said and Niall nodded, remembering how it was just the two of them in a battered-up tent up eating hotdogs and marshmallows, telling ghost stories and lying underneath the stars, and Niall missed how detached they were from the world, how the only thing that mattered at that moment were Harry and his voice and his smile.

 

.004 ♚ _b o x_

Niall kept a box under his bed, small and compact, where he hid photos and letters shared between him and Harry throughout the years, and when he got home from the wedding, he dug it up, wiped the dust from the lid, and held it close to his chest before finally letting himself cry.

 

.005 ♚ _r u n_

Harry had called him up one night to ask him to be his best man at his wedding, and Niall tried to suppress the urge to scream at the top of his lungs and told him he’d love to, but when Harry hung up with a _“thanks, mate, see you tomorrow,”_ he threw his mobile on the floor, picked up his jumper from the sofa, and sprinted off down the darkening street until his knees gave out under him.

 

.006 ♚ _h u r r i c a n e_

Caroline entered the picture like a hurricane—swift and sudden and destructive, tearing apart their relationship brick by brick, and there was nothing Niall could do but watch Harry fall into her.

 

.007 ♚ _w i n g s_

Harry had a particular propensity for mending broken things, and when they found a bird lying unconscious behind a bush, Harry took it straight home, raided his parents’ medicine cabinet, tied a tourniquet around it, and kept it in his room until it was ready to fly again.

 

.008 ♚ _c o l d_

It wasn’t a rare occurence that Niall would find himself bundled up in his covers suffering from a cold and scarfing down his mother’s hot chicken soup because he was a naturally sickly boy and he was used to it by now, but what set this time apart from the rest was the fact that Harry had asked his mother’s help to make chocolate chip cookies and Niall swore it was the best surprise of his life when he saw him carrying a box of them at the foot of his bed with a simple “hello” and a flash of his smile.

 

.009 ♚ _r e d_

Niall hated it when Harry would get into fights, hated the sight of blood smearing his face like an angry child crazy with a paintbrush, but Harry was always trying to prove his worth and he’d be doing him a great disservice if he said he wanted it to stop, so he’d just bite his tongue and clean Harry’s face with a wet napkin and pull out the extra shirt in his bag and pretend like nothing ever happened.

 

.010 ♚ _d r i n k_

On Harry’s eighteenth birthday, Niall bought some Chinese take-away and Harry stole a bottle of vodka from his parents’ drink cabinet, and they spent the entire night watching reruns of comedies, reminiscing old memories, and laughing the night away.

 

.011 ♚ _m i d n i g h t_

Harry’s a happy drunk who can’t quite handle his liquor yet and Niall turns dangerously red with only a sip, and by midnight, they were a mess of tangled limbs on the sofa, Harry cradling Niall under his arm, and when Harry laughed, Niall pressed his ears further into his chest because he liked the sound, and he felt like the happiest person on Earth when he heard Harry say, “I love you, Ni.”

 

.012 ♚ _t e m p t a t i o n_

When they were fifteen, Harry had his first taste of alcohol, and when Niall brought him home from the party and stripped him down after he threw up all over his shirt, Niall tried his best not to look as he led him to the bathroom and turned on the shower.

 

.013 ♚ _v i e w_

The park was a misty sheet of blue in the shower of rain, empty except for a stray dog trying to take shelter underneath the playground slide, and Niall checked his mobile for a moment before stuffing it back in his pocket and counting the minutes until Harry would arrive.

 

.014 ♚ _m u s i c_

At eleven, Harry could outsing everyone in their class, and when Niall told him he sounded just like those people on the radio, Harry gave him the widest smile and sang to him as they watched the sun setting from the rooftop.

 

.015 ♚ _s i l k_

Once, Harry gave Niall a box of silk underwear for his birthday, and even though Niall had never worn them outside the comfort of his bedroom, he would occasionally look at himself in the mirror and wonder if Harry would like the way they looked around his waist.

 

.016 ♚ _c o v e r_

Niall popped his messy head from the covers and caught his breath, and when Harry slid up the bed and sat against the headboard, Niall said, “That was the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me,” and Harry laughed and reached his arm across his shoulder and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

 

.017 ♚ _p r o m i s e_

“You mean it?” Niall asked, jumping from the swing set and looking at Harry square in the eyes to see if he was lying, and Harry planted his feet on the sand and looked back with equal intensity, and said, “We’ll _always_ be together, forever and ever.”

 

.018 ♚ _d r e a m_

Niall’s dreams were always filled with images of Harry, vivid and palpable and beautiful and sometimes it was hard to tell the difference, so when he woke up and saw the bed achingly empty, it took him a while to realize that Harry was married to _Caroline_ , not him.

 

.019 ♚ _c a n d l e_

There was a blackout when Niall slept over at Harry’s place and they spent the night in the living room huddled around a candle, telling ghost stories and singing songs until they fell asleep in a crumpled heap against the sofa.

 

.020 ♚ _t a l e n t_

Niall had always loved his guitar, had always cared for it like it was his child not because it was his first one with a lot of sentimental value in it, but because it was Harry’s thirteenth birthday present for him, bought with the money he’d been saving up for a new model car until he decided model cars were useless in the long run and Niall was really, _really_ good at playing the old, off-key guitar they had in music class.

 

.021 ♚ _s i l e n c e_

The moment Harry told him he had asked Caroline out, Niall decided he wasn’t going to talk to him for the next few weeks, but he caved in after two days because he just couldn’t say no to Harry’s smile.

 

.022 ♚ _j o u r n e y_

After landing on Italy, the first thing Niall did was visit every restaurant in the vicinity, and when he checked into his hotel room that night and collapsed on the bed, he unbuttoned his trousers and let himself breathe, and he realized with a laugh that this might not have been a bad idea after all.

 

.023 ♚ _f i r e_

Harry’s touch felt like hot coals dancing on Niall’s body, searing him down to the core, and when Harry took him down and made love to him for the first time, it felt like his entire body was being consumed by fire.

 

.024 ♚ _s t r e n g t h_

Sometimes, Niall wished he had been strong enough to tell Harry how he really felt when he and Felicity broke up, but he couldn’t bring himself to say anything other than “everything’s gonna be okay” when Harry clung to his shirt and muffled his sobs on his chest.

 

.025 ♚ _m a s k_

“I’m really happy for you, Harry,” Niall said with a smile, and when Harry pulled him into a tight hug, he tried his hardest to stop the tears from falling.

 

.026 ♚ _i c e_

“You shouldn’t have stepped in like that, you moron,” Harry said with a shake of his head as he pressed a bag of ice on the large bruise marking Niall’s cheek, and Niall only shrugged and gave a laugh because he figured it was his turn to stand up and fight for his best mate.

 

.027 ♚ _f a l l_

Niall never asked for it, wished it was something that could be given back because it was complicated and confusing, but most of all, it _hurt_ , especially when he saw Felicity Skinner playing with Harry’s hair during recess and Niall swallowed thickly and turned the other way when Harry nuzzled his nose against her neck with a laugh.

 

.028 ♚ _f o r g o t t e n_

Niall had forgotten what it was like to hear Harry say “I love you,” so when he said it for the last time, Niall couldn’t help but start crying at the airport, and Harry took him in his arms and tried to calm him down with a few rubs on his back and quick pats on his head.

 

.029 ♚ _d a n c e_

When Harry asked his best man to dance with him on bended knee, everyone thought it was charming and silly and funny and Niall couldn’t help but let a smile break out, but what they didn’t know was that he had dreamt of his moment every night of his life, Harry’s hands tender on his waist, his arms around Harry’s neck, a ring on his finger and a kiss on his lips the only things missing from the picture.

 

.030 ♚ _b o d y_

Niall had never seen another man’s body before and Harry’s was tight and smooth and _perfect_ beneath him, the muscles working visibly underneath his skin as he took slow, deep breaths, and when he ran his hands across his chest, he could feel Harry’s laugh vibrating on his fingertips, and he smiled and dipped his head down to catch Harry’s lips with his own.

 

.031 ♚ _s a c r e d_

Niall’s feelings for Harry were as sacred as the ring on Caroline’s finger, but he knew that Harry could never have both, so he packed up all of his things and bought a one-way ticket to Italy to leave the next day.

 

.032 ♚ _f a r e w e l l s_

“Don’t forget me,” Harry said, and Niall nodded and buried his face in the crook of his neck, soaking his shirt in the middle of the airport terminal, ignoring everything but the feeling of Harry’s arms wrapped around his waist.

 

.033 ♚ _w o r l d_

When Niall looked out of the window, he could see London getting smaller and smaller before his eyes, and even though he still felt that traveling around the world could never fill the hole Harry left in his heart, he stayed optimistic that the adventure would suffice just the same.

 

.034 ♚ _f o r m a l_

Niall had always hated suits, felt like they were too rigid, too constricting, but the days until the wedding were getting shorter and he knew he had to get one soon, and when he looked at himself in the shop mirror, the saleswoman told him he looked very handsome in it, like he was getting ready for his own wedding, and Niall faked a smile and told her, “I wish I was.”

 

.035 ♚ _f e v e r_

When Harry was suffering from a fever, Niall visited him every day because he looked like he was on the brink of death, and he was afraid he would never see his best friend ever again.

 

.036 ♚ _l a u g h_

Harry’s laugh was one of those things that Niall couldn’t live without, and when he told a joke that made Harry howl in laughter, he swore it was the most wonderful feeling he’d ever had in his entire life.

 

.037 ♚ _l i e s_

“This isn’t going to change anything, is it?” Harry asked, brows drawn together in deep concern as he pulled his trousers halfway up his thighs, and Niall looked at him for a moment before shaking his head and reaching for his shirt in the messy pile of their clothes on the floor, emptiness spreading inside his chest.

 

.038 ♚ _f o r e v e r_

“Remember what you promised me?” Niall asked, and Harry slid his arms around his waist and buried his nose in his shoulder, pulling Niall closer until he could feel his heart beating on his back, and with a kiss on his neck, he said, “I’ll never, ever forget,” and Niall couldn’t stop his smile from reaching ear to ear.

 

.039 ♚ _o v e r w h e l m e d_

The first time Harry kissed Niall was during Zayn Malik’s sixteenth birthday, where they went to a small party at his place filled with girls in short skirts and enough alcohol to fill a swimming pool, and at first, he couldn’t believe what happened, blood pumping through his veins at a hundred miles per hour and his heart feeling like it was about to burst out of his ribcage, and when Harry saw the look on his face, he let out a big, hearty laugh and punched him across the shoulder, telling him, as he took another sip from his red plastic cup, that “I just wanted to know what it felt like to kiss a bloke, okay?”

 

.040 ♚ _w h i s p e r_

“Does it hurt?” Harry whispered, his breath hot and heavy in Niall’s ear, and Niall shook his head, wrapping his arms tighter around Harry’s neck and biting his lips to prevent the screams of ecstasy from reverberating against the walls.

 

.041 ♚ _w a i t_

Niall waited in the park bench getting soaked down to his bones, his hands folded on his lap, feeling the raindrops pelting his head, and he silently berated himself for forgetting to bring an umbrella.

 

.042 ♚ _t a l k_

“I’ll miss you buddy,” Harry said, his glossy eyes ringed with red, cupping Niall’s face and running his thumbs under his eyes, and Niall tried to swallow his tears and pulled Harry into the tightest embrace he’d ever given anyone before, wishing he didn’t have to go, wishing he could still have Harry by his side, wishing they could just stay like this forever.

 

.043 ♚ _s e a r c h_

Niall was beginning to think that Harry wouldn’t come, and he was about to give up looking for any sign of him when he saw a blue umbrella bouncing into view from behind the playground, and Niall stood up and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand just in time to see Harry running over to him with a jacket slung around his shoulder.

 

.044 ♚ _h o p e_

Niall was beginning to think that he’d never find someone he could spend the rest of his life with, and after he’d decided he’d just buy a cat to try and fill the void, he met a man named Liam in the pet store who offered to take him out for a cup of coffee.

 

.045 ♚ _e c l i p s e_

Harry had always been fascinated with astronomy, and when he took Niall out on a drive to watch the lunar eclipse, Niall immediately realized why he loved it so much.

 

.046 ♚ _g r a v i t y_

No matter how much he tried to convince himself that it was only a phase and he’d grow out of it, that liking Harry was nothing more than a stupid, silly crush and that he’d only get hurt in the end, he would still find himself looking at their pictures together and wondering if his lips were really as soft as they looked.

 

.047 ♚ _h i g h w a y_

After Harry got his license, he took Niall out on a road trip where they sang pop songs from the nineties and stuffed their cheeks with junk food and canned soda and watched the stars twinkling in the night sky on the hood of his car.

 

.048 ♚ _u n k n o w n_

Niall stood in front of his closet trying to figure out what to wear and for a moment, he wondered if he should go through with it, wondering if he was rushing into it too quickly, but he thought about how he’d never forgive himself if he let this opportunity slip from his fingers and he pulled himself together, took out his most expensive jacket, and waited on his bed until he saw Liam’s name flashing on his mobile screen.

 

.049 ♚ _l o c k_

Niall had always thought that Harry alone held the key to his heart, that was until Liam had come to his hotel room carrying a bouquet of flowers and a bag of food from his favorite restaurant with a simple “hey there” and a wide grin.

 

.050 ♚ _b r e a t h e_

His journey had been a whirlwind of emotions and happiness and broken hearts, but it was only when Liam slid the ring around his finger that he could finally feel himself breathing for the first time in his life.


End file.
